4 Ways Technology Is Improving Healthcare Management

1 month ago

By Sarah Daren

The rise of technology has greatly
increased the accessibility of treatment for patients. It has improved the
healthcare field, making it easier for medical providers to collect data,
conduct research and provide treatments.

Healthcare experts forecast that technology
will improve care and efficiency for patients as well as providers. This is
already taking place, as more care providers incorporate new technologies for
patient reports, updates, lab results, medical records and other uses. For instance, software programs are improving
healthcare and disease control, such as the database that holds 14,000
individual codes that classify illness and symptoms for healthcare providers so
that they can better understand their patients. With this resource, practitioners
can improve how they manage diseases and provide better healthcare treatment. There are even high-tech
vests that can identify chest or heart problems. This and other
innovations will lead to more advanced research and will help care providers to
solve many critical problems.

Technology
is Improving Healthcare Management

Healthcare managers provide staff members
with technological resources that increase their efficiency and improves treatment outcomes. The managers implement
new technologies to promote growth, increase production and foster positive change
in the caregiving setting. With new technologies becoming more available, healthcare
professionals continue to rely on these new tools to deliver better services.

Some technologies that are currently being
developed for healthcare professionals are wearable
and implanted devices, telemedicine, data analytics and artificial intelligence. Also, electronic
health records (EHRs) help healthcare professionals track and analyze large
volumes of patient data. This advanced system leads to a better understanding of patient needs and
reduces inefficiencies. Two other recent and remarkable developments in
healthcare technology, however, are blockchain technology and machine learning
algorithms.

Blockchain
in the Healthcare Setting

Security of confidential information is a
challenge for the healthcare industry. One out of four of all data breaches occurs in the field, affecting millions of
Americans and costing approximately $363 per record — which can add up to
billions of dollars. In light of this, healthcare leaders hope that blockchain
technology can serve as a
resource for securing sensitive patient data. Electronic health
records contain patients’ names, birthdates, social security numbers and other private information. Due to the
confidential nature of this data, there’s a heightened need for security in the
healthcare industry.

Blockchain technology could be the
solution that care providers need to solve the security dilemma. It’s made up
of a network of information packets, called blocks, used to record, share and verify
information. Healthcare providers, for example, might use the technology to
record, verify and secure medical data, patient records, medical logs or other
important information.

Blockchain data is stored all over the
world on a network of participating
peer-to-peer computers. When a block is completed, it adds to the chain of
previously created blocks. In turn, a large system of information and facts are
stored and can be accessed at any time.

Machine
Learning for Enhanced Data Analytics

The healthcare industry manages large amounts
of patient information using big data systems. Machine learning is a relatively
new big data innovation that might revolutionize the healthcare field. The
technology uses algorithms to continually “learn” how to unearth new
discoveries.

Furthermore, healthcare providers manually
screen volumes of images to help diagnose illnesses. With machine learning
technologies, however, algorithms can be trained to search through large
volumes of images quickly and produce suggestions for healthcare professionals.
In some cases, algorithms can spot things that doctors may miss. A combination
of machine learning and doctor’s judgment
may very well be the future of providing highly accurate diagnoses.

Improved
Cybersecurity

As the healthcare industry moves
information into the digital space, cybercriminals
are growing more skilled in their trade. Due to the significant financial
impact of a data breach, it is essential that cybersecurity
is improved and remains a critical focus in
the current technology-driven healthcare field.
Healthcare organizations can improve their cybersecurity
by implementing strong anti-virus protections, using firewalls, securing enterprise
mobile devices, holding cybersecurity training classes, promoting the use of strong
passwords, limiting network access and making use of other security technologies.

Keeping patient data safe is a
mission-critical objective. As programmers and engineers continue their efforts
to secure the world’s data, the healthcare field can look forward to more
innovations to emerge and produce profound and remarkable improvements in the field.